Family ends national parks adventure in Calabasas

Four drove RV to 49 states in 25 months

DAVID YAMAMOTO/SPECIAL TO THE STAR
Ranger Iliana Espinoza leads Henry (center), 12, and Will Burch, 13, in a pledge to receive their junior ranger badges Monday in Calabasas. The Burch family completed a 25-month journey to national parks by visiting the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

DAVID YAMAMOTO/SPECIAL TO THE STAR
Henry Burch, 12, wears the badges he got from the national parks he visited with his family.

DAVID YAMAMOTO/SPECIAL TO THE STAR
Will Burch, 13, pins on his new junior ranger badge.

DAVID YAMAMOTO/SPECIAL TO THE STAR
Henry (right), 12, and Will Burch, 13, stand with their parents, Bill and Shirley Burch, on Monday, at the Santa Monica Mountains Visitors Center in Calabasas.

Brothers Will and Henry Burch received their 307th junior ranger badges Monday at the Santa Monica Mountains Interagency Visitor Center in Calabasas.

The center was the final stop of their 25-month adventure of visiting national parks in 49 states with their parents, Bill and Shirley Burch.

Because Will, 13, and Henry, 12, were being home-schooled and Bill could do his work in the mortgage business from anywhere, Shirley had the idea to teach the boys through a trip across the country. In 2012, the San Diego family sold its house, bought a 42-foot RV and set out for what Shirley called "an experience of a lifetime."

While the national-park idea was an afterthought, it soon became the purpose. Even though they had a course in mind, they stayed as long as they wished.

Besides the parks, the boys had to keep up with their schoolwork. Also, in each state, they visited presidential libraries and the Capitol buildings and learned about the state's government.

"This was information they could not have gotten from a textbook," said Shirley.

They stayed a month in Washington, D.C., and Shirley Burch said one of her highlights was visiting the White House at Christmastime.

They also spent seven weeks in Alaska.

"One thing that amazed me was: In Alaska we went someplace most people never go, which is Gates of the Arctic National Park, which is very remote," Will said. "There is no visitors center or big roads going to it. We went on a big dirt road and had to stop in a town called Wiseman, which has a population of 14, and we saw a big grizzly bear and a gold mine with modern equipment, and we hiked to Gates of the Arctic."

While they were careful with the weather — spending October in New England, winter in Florida and summer in Alaska — they ended up in Pennsylvania with Hurricane Sandy on its way.

"With wheels on our house, we just went due west nine hours and sheltered in Kentucky," Bill Burch said.

Henry said he enjoyed seeing the alligators at Florida's Everglades National Park and exploring the swamps.

The boys had to take tests to receive their badges. Will said the toughest junior ranger program was at Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah.

"Bryce Canyon is known for its hoodoos, which are orange rocks that comes up in a pillar shape," Will said.

The boys will return to San Diego next week and said they were ready to see their friends.

Bill and Shirley Burch will look for a home, cars and schools for their sons to enter next year.

"Eventually we'll take a trip to the national parks in Hawaii," Shirley said. "There's plenty more adventure to have."